On 11 March, 1744, Samuel Baker, founder of Sotheby’s, held the first-ever sale under his own name, disposing of ‘several Hundred scarce and valuable books in all branches of Polite Literature’. Since then, Sotheby’s has grown to become the world’s most prestigious auction house, with more than one hundred offices around the world, including the famous salesroom in New Bond Street which has been the company’s London headquarters since 1917. In North America, Sotheby's base is located on Manhattan’s exclusive York Avenue.

Sotheby’s is renowned for the quality and diversity of the fine art that passes through the company’s auction rooms, as well as the record prices that have been recorded in exciting art auctions worldwide. akg-images is pleased to offer a selection of artworks, primarily paintings, that have come under the Sotheby’s hammer.